eBay removing negative feedback?
Summary: Una serie de usuarios comentan sobre la eliminación de comentarios negativos en eBay, lo que parece ser el tema central de la discusión. dr.vankmann5 inicia el tema, y varios participantes contribuyen con sus opiniones, aunque no se proporcionan detalles específicos sobre la discusión en sí. jonathanbrightlight menciona de manera sarcástica que un usuario es considerado como el más útil en la plataforma, en contraste con otros que dudan sobre la autenticidad de su conocimiento sobre el tema. La conversación parece apuntar a un intercambio de opiniones y experiencias acerca del manejo de la retroalimentación por parte de eBay.
Why is it that eBay removes most negative feedback received by buyers, is this legal for eBay to do, I can remember a case in the Supreme Court where there was an online customer review platform where customers could leave reviews of private companies, and the platform was accepting payments from those companies to remove negative feedback, that online review company platform was shut down because it violated consumer trust laws. How is eBay able to get away with it?
kh-tuna
·2 months agoHi everyone,
This discussion has gotten a bit heated. Please remember that, while it is fine to disagree with others, discussion should always remain friendly and respectful as required by the Community Guidelines.
Thank you for your cooperation.
powell-collectibles
·2 months agoThank-you.
soh.maryl
·2 months agoeBay, as a corporation, can set their own rules regarding the way FB is handled. On eBay, sellers are forbidden to leave negative FB for buyers period. It's their site, so their rules. Have no idea what the Supreme Court case involved; however, it has no impact whatsoever on how eBay runs their site.
And that rule includes those who attempt to leave negative with a green doughnut, which is the only way that could be accomplished. eBay should be removing ALL negative FB received by sellers, not just "most".
powell-collectibles
·2 months agoActually, eBay can’t. Or, they can until they get their hands slapped. And that’s why they had to change how they managed feedback to sellers. No more widespread no questions asked removal of negative feedback for certain sellers. I could see something like that for feedback left for buyers – maybe.
Regardless, understood that false positives to buyers aren’t allowed for the rules. But it happens a lot. And a lot of sellers are really glad that a lot of it slipped through when they are looking at feedback when deciding on whether or not to engage with a certain buyer.
mudshark61369
·2 months ago@powell-collectibles ,
"... understood that false positives to buyers aren’t allowed for the rules. But it happens a lot".
A seller leaving a negative comment as a positive for a buyer can be removed if the buyer reports the violation. However, if a seller leaves a negative comment as a follow up to a feedback by them or left by the buyer. It will stand.
glorybells
·2 months agoInteresting that right now @soh.maryl is THE #1 most marked helpful responder on here, you’re down at #52, but you feel totally qualified to pick apart her answers and try to claim something is wrong with what she said. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
powell-collectibles
·2 months agoWhat the heck? Did I say something that was wrong – I really think you might be responding to the wrong post. I don’t think there was any picking a part of anything and I’m not sure why things are getting so aggressive. Would you not agree that eBay can’t do whatever they want with the feedback system? It’s clear that they can’t. Plenty of sites have had to change what they do – if they have a feedback system it actually has to be reasonably accurate and can’t hide results systematically.
jonathanbrightlight
·2 months agoI love when people like UM feign ignorance.
powell-collectibles
·2 months agoHonestly, I think that there are a couple that are highly confused or just making things up. Heck, one of my detractors offered this "evidence pack" (see message #123) of bad behavior:
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Item-not-returned-then-altered-and-vicious-feedback-left/m-p/35619579#M2696358
You'll see it is largely posts from others (nothing to do with me) or me being nice to someone/anyone. One person chimed in that it looked totally harmless, that it seemed like I was obviously trying to be nice, and wasn't sure what this detractor was getting at. It is all very odd.
jonathanbrightlight
·2 months agoInterestingly, the UM (soon to be 86UM) is continuing to treat us like we're too stupid to see the pattern they pretend doesn't exist.
bobby-newmark
·2 months agoNext time I buy a phone it's not going to be on ebay. I left negative feedback so other buyers wouldn't get duped like I did. It vanished in a couple days which begs the question how many times has this happened with this buyer?
This just encourages unscrupulous sellers. It's the beginning of the demise of trust in ebay. Good luck, ebay. your brand used to mean something. Now you're just another glassdoor.
This post will probably get removed LOL.
soh.maryl
·2 months agoIf you, as a buyer, were duped when buying a phone on eBay, did you not open the appropriate case with eBay per the Money Back Guarantee?
Did not receive your purchase? You have30 days after the estimated delivery date to open an item not received case.
Did receive it, but it's not as described? You have 30 days after receipt to open the item not as described case.
The MBG really does offer good protection for buyers. The catch is that the buyer has to read it, understand it and use it in a timely fashion.
Have you read the MBG?
grann-4629
·2 months ago@soh.maryl You may not be active on eBay these days, but the information you provide here is always direct and to the point, and shows how your knowledge and experience is helping users, especially new ones.
Keep it up eh 😄😄
soh.maryl
·2 months agoThank you for those kind words.
tobaccocardyahoo
·4 months agoThe Ebay policy was created because it was necessary.
Bad sellers left unjustified negative FB for buyers as retaliation for any negative aspects of a sale, including their own failures.
It was part of an evolution in the FB system spurred by Ebay CEOs starting with Meg Whitman who wanted Ebay to be viewed as a safe place to buy, a major departure from the way Pierre treated the site and its buyers.
The original FB system on Ebay did not require a transaction to occur for any buyer or seller to post negatives on each other. It existed solely, for something for Ebay to point to when it refused to police the site.
Buyer FB serves no useful purpose. A seller violates Ebay policy if it uses FB to decide to cancel an order. It would probably be gone already were it not for internet users who are desperate for any form of external validation justifying their existence.
I have never seen a breakdown of what percentage of sellers use the automatic FB option for all of their buyer FB, but since leaving it is a waste of time and effort, I would expect a majority of sellers have figured it out.
krazzykats
·4 months agoFeedback policy on eBay
ᓚᘏᗢ
I’ve had dozens of negative, neutral, as well positive feedback with a negative comment removed by eBay over the course of several years. Just this week eBay removed a neutral and a positive with a negative comment for me.
There is nothing illegal about it.
grann-4629
·2 months agoThere is nothing illegal about it.
One of the reasons eBay should scrap the entire feedback program ... it has become meaningless if eBay can edit or remove what a member states.
dr.vankmann5
OP4 months agoThe question was meant to be about feedback removed from sellers score.
mudshark61369
·4 months ago@dr.vankmann5 ,
"Why is it that eBay removes most negative feedback received by buyers".
Because it violates ebay's policy that does not allow sellers to leave negative feedback or positive feedback with negative comments for buyers.
If you mean why does ebay remove negative feedback left for a seller. There are a few reasons why ebay will do that.
There's one more not given in the above list. The seller follows the money back guarantee policy and a full refund is given to the buyer without ebay having to step in. Most buyers and honest sellers do not believe this should happen, but it is eBay's game and they make the rules.
dr.vankmann5
OP4 months agoNot one of those violations were made, the reason I was given by eBay representative was that I did not leave enough information, so me simply stating “ I never received item and seller refused to communicate to make it right” wasn’t enough information, when I asked what other information I should’ve put in there the rep said that he honestly didn’t know, there’s no clear reasoning why it was removed, the only conclusion is eBay manipulating seller feedback scores. I truly believe that eBay manipulates feedback for vendors to make the platform seem more appealing so that there stockholders continue making money, if the platform was more honest to show that’s it’s less than trustworthy they would no longer be traded publicly, but sellers continue to be able to operate with 98% to 99% positive feedback while trying to scam customers to appease Corporate then that makes the platform unsafe. I’m not wrong!
soh.maryl
·4 months agoAnd, now that we've hopefully established that your original post was regarding bad FB left for sellers, and you mentioned that the FB was regarding an item you didn't receive, again, did you open an item not received case with eBay?
Have you read the Money Back Guarantee for buyers? It clearly covers an issue where the buyer did not receive his purchase.
bobby-newmark
·2 months agoYou communicated with an actual ebay representative? 😆
christworks
·4 months agoI do not think eBay removes "most" negative feedback. They do remove feedback that violates policy. And, yes, that is very legal.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoDoesn't ANY negative feedback left for buyers violate policy?
soh.maryl
·4 months agoUnless it's removing ALL negative feedback left for buyers, it's falling down on the job.
Sellers are specifically forbidden to leave negative feedback for buyers.
grann-4629
·4 months agoPost in general - not intended for any one person!
What are some examples of sellers leaving bad feedback for buyers?
Rubber money?
Plug nickels?
Three dollar bills?
Or are you discussing retaliatory type feedback?
soh.maryl
·4 months agoEvidently did not make myself clear. Any negative FB CAN be left for a buyer by a seller, including "buyer did not pay"; however, the sharp buyer will get it removed and the green donut will remain. The seller has earned himself a "defect".
I am discussing absolutely ANY kind of negative FB, retaliatory or otherwise.
grann-4629
·4 months agoI am still trying to think of something negative a seller could say about a buyer in feedback unless it's retaliatory. 😧
In every one of my buys, I have to pay as soon as I click the buy button. The 'buyer did not pay' doesn't make sense to me as it would not be a deal (contract) if no payment was made, and thus no opportunity for feedback by either party.
What am I missing here?
tks again
kathiec
·4 months agoImmediate payment is only a seller option for Offers and auctions. Otherwise a buyer has four days to pay, and they often don't. Most of the illegal negs for buyers are mentioning that it was a deadbeat buyer who didn't pay.
albertabrightalberta
·4 months agoIt's not just options for auctions and offers. Unless there's been a change that I've missed, sellers of fixed price listings can also refrain from requiring immediate payment.
kathiec
·4 months agoI was referring to pay in advance. Sorry for not being clearer.
albertabrightalberta
·4 months agoYou're missing the fact that not all sellers have chosen IPR (immediate payment required) so there can be cases in which buyers commit to purchase and never pay.
But those sellers leaving a negative comment for such a non-paying buyer is still a violation.
house*of*paws
·4 months agoBuyer didn't pay IS the 'negative feedback' Comment seen most often left for buyers. It isn't allowed.
What you appear to be missing is that MANY listings don't require 'immediate payment' or 'prepayment information' ... so that sellers must file a cancellation request (choosing 'Buyer didn't pay') to have a nonpayment strike placed on the buyer's account when they fail to pay.
Many sellers either aren't aware of how to give buyers a nonpayment strike OR they don't feel it's sufficient punishment for failing to pay.
grann-4629
·4 months ago... MANY listings don't require 'immediate payment' or 'prepayment information' ... so that sellers must file a cancellation request (choosing 'Buyer didn't pay') to have a nonpayment strike placed on the buyer's account when they fail
I didn't know that, thanks. I am a casual buyer and I have an eBay monthly budget. I haven't researched eBay's Policies - just quick perusals. The information I get here is better.
Everything has been perfect for me on eBay.
soh.maryl
·2 months agoYou, and evidently many others, are missing the fact that sellers are forbidden by eBay rules to leave negative feedback of any kind for any buyer for any reason.
grann-4629
·2 months agoSellers are specifically forbidden to leave negative feedback for buyers.
What a crock eh! I am a buyer and I don't think this is 'fair' at all for sellers. Is eBay suggesting that all of us buyers are 100% on the up-and-up and never violate an eBay Policy, and that any negative feedback from a seller is obviously a mistake that needs to be corrected?
soh.maryl
·2 months agoDon't think that eBay is claiming all buyers are 1`00% on the up and up.
They're just more interested in retaining buyers than they are in keeping sellers.
And I'd like to point out that many of us feel that the whole system needs to be dumped.
kathiec
·2 months agoBecause you're so new to eBay you lack any knowledge of the history of the platform. Before 2008, when the policy of sellers not leaving negative feedback began, feedback was almost entirely '**bleep** for tat'. If a buyer left a seller a deserved neg, they would quite likely get a neg in return. That meant buyers who were afraid of retaliatory feedback were afraid to neg sellers, even when those sellers deserved it. So feedback was even more meaningless than it is now. Ebay, as it is wont to do, threw out the baby with the bathwater in "solving" the problem.
BTW, what happened to "I am outta' here forever 😄😄😄😄😄😄" from yesterday?? If that came from a female back in my youth she'd be called a tease.
glorybells
·2 months ago@kathiec ,
Having been here since 1999, I well remember the days before the MBG and the feedback changes. Remember when people would sell the contents of their junk drawer and the buyer was stuck with whatever they received?
grann-4629
·2 months agoBecause you're so new to eBay you lack any knowledge of the history of the platform. Before 2008 ...
You may remember my post a while back when I mentioned I joined eBay back when buyers sent sellers cheques, money orders, or cash (ugh) and the seller shipped the item when s/he received the payment. I even posted a pic of what eBay looked like a year or so after I joined.
I actually preferred the old forums where a person could say what they believed without an editor overhead just waiting to pounce ... more my style, excluding the personal stuff of course.
That was several years before 2008 (about 12 or 13 years, I think), but that is just as irrelevent as your history in today's eBay. It has changed so much since then, I believe we are both learning how eBay works today, just with different interests.
As to your other comment, maybe you missed the six happy faces that I added just for you 😎
kathiec
·2 months agoYou are under the mistaken impression that we all see and/or read all your posts. The post I remember spoke of how you're new to eBay and didn't really understand how things worked. So which is it? Or does it just change depending on who you think your audience is??
grann-4629
·2 months agoDon't upset the mods ... we have already been warned once. I am trying to be civil here. 😎
In essence, I am new to eBay ... I was away for 15 years and to me, it is a 'new' eBay I came back to 6 or so months ago. Therefore, I consider myself 'new' to eBay.
I like to hear the seller horror stories here and how they were solved or not solved ... they reinforce my desire to never sell on eBay again.
I think my previous feedback was over 600 but I was using a different id then so I can't 'verify myself'.
I sincerely hope this answers your question and I wish you every success in your eBay carreer.
gone.c-33
·2 months agoPosts were removed all the time then too, we called those pink slaps because the mods’ posts would be highlighted in pink.
albertabrightalberta
·2 months agoAnd if we got a "vacation" from posting, we went on vacation to the "pink sands beach."
grann-4629
·2 months agoAh, the 'pinks' ... seems I didn't get along with them most of the time 😎
tinsoldierunderground
·4 months ago@dr.vankmann5
"How is ebay able to get away with it?"
It's their circus, their monkeys. Ebay has it's own rules about feedback violations, and such is clearly stated in the King James version of ebay policy that we all agreed to when we signed up.
kennys-kollectibles
·4 months agoReally? I signed up in 1999. I don't think that was mentioned back then.
Ebay policy changes like the seasons.
I for one, have given up on trying to keep up with all the changes that
have happened over the last 25 years.
And I don't even think ebay employees can keep up with all the changes that happened either.
They would have to be trained and re-trained every 6 months, and they are not.
house*of*paws
·4 months agoAgreed. eBay seems to keep making changes in an attempt to balance 'fairness' between buyers and sellers. Changes in removal of negative feedback for sellers seemed to occur after buyers received certain perks in other areas.
jonathanbrightlight
·4 months agoMy understanding is that a lot of the changes regarding removing negative feedback, especially the introduction of the ability to edit the offending parts out or to an acceptable version instead of removing the whole feedback, was more in response to the Federal Trade Commission ruling that affected most online platforms that have a feedback system.
bonanza125
·4 months agoThere is nothing against legally for Ebay to remove feedback. Feedback isn't something legal. It's a tool for buyers to use to determine if they want to buy from a seller. If you have an issue with an item your purchased file a case against the seller within 30 days and return the item. You have a moneyback guarantee which is your buyer protection. Also you can contact the seller to work things out. No payments were made for feedback removed. Ebay themselves decided that your feedback was a violation and it was removed. Can you tell us what your issue was and why you made the decision to leave this feedback. In the feedback did you say anything foul?
dr.vankmann5
OP4 months ago” I never received the item and seller refused to communicate to make it right “
that was the Fernando that eBay claimed violated policy.
bonanza125
·4 months agoNext question for you did you receive any tracking number at all which states delivered? As others are trying to figure out which is the reason for the removal.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoOK, now you're referring to feedback left for sellers. In your original message, you appeared to be referring to feedback left for BUYERS, which would be an entirely different set of rules.
And, if you are saying that you did not receive a purchase from a buyer, why would you bother to contact eBay, when you could simply open an item not received case per eBay's Money Back Guarantee for buyers?
grann-4629
·4 months ago@soh.maryl Thanks for pointing that out ... I couldn't understand why bad feedback would be left for a buyer, as it's not allowed in the first place.
tinsoldierunderground
·4 months agoNo, it's not allowed. Still, a fair number of complaints come to these boards where sellers have left bad feedback for buyers in the form of false positives, i.e. leaving a green donut but making negative statements.
And some of it can be quite inflammatory.
soh.maryl
·2 months agoAND any buyer who receives that kind of feedback from any seller can contact eBay and get it removed.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoIn reality, bad FB CAN be left for a buyer by a seller; however, that buyer can report it and get it erased.
The green positive sign remains and the seller who left the bad FB will have earned a "defect".
bdmh-enterprises
·4 months agoThe words of the FB are not the only thing that matters. Actions surrounding the feedback matter as well.
Let's say you didn't actually give the seller time to communicate before filing an INR, or the seller did in fact attempt to communicate, or the item was marked delivered. That would make the FB untrue and therefore removable even if the words by themselves are fine.
Quite frankly the majority of the many, many sellers you have left neg FB for should have had them removed for various policy violations..